Getting Ready to go

Well, we are getting ready to leave on Saturday Nov 14 to catch the Ruby Princess in Ft Lauderdale for twenty days in the Caribbean. This is the first time that we will be taking a bus called "The Cruise Connection" from Leesburg to Port Everglades. It was recommended by our travel agent and is priced well at 65 dollars per person round trip. We will try and post from each port and post some pictures as well.

Our Next Cruise

Well, we are no sooner home from the Panama Canal and now we have booked to back to back Caribbean cruises on the Ruby Princess. The two ten day back to back cruises will get us to Bonaire and Antigua, two islands in the Caribbean that we have not visited. Even though the one on Nov 14 was wait listed we got on the list and it became available the following day. The prices are still really good this fall and is another reason we booked these cruises. This will be our first time on the Ruby Princess and we are looking forward to our time on it. It turns out that our neighbors have booked the same cruise on our second leg and it will be nice to see them on-board, especially since we found out they are trivia players as well.

Panama Canal on the Island Princess

We just returned from our second trip through the Panama Canal and what a treat it was. It was our first cruise on the Island Princess and it didn't disappoint. The ship was designed to go through the Canal so it is a little longer and a little narrower than some of the larger ships, but its passenger space is extremely good. It has two large showrooms, and the normal run of bars and lounges. Now for a real deal, after returning home we got a brochure from Princess that that showed an inside cabin from Los Angeles to Ft Lauderdale for fifteen days for only $699. We are almost tempted to do it again because we love ship life. I checked the Princess site today, signed in and seen that we have sailed with Princess 348 days, our next cruise will put us over a year. We are looking at doing two ten day back to back cruises in the southern Caribbean in November. We are also looking at a Greek Isles and transatlantic again in the spring.

A week in Orlando

Before we leave for the west coast and our next cruise, we are spending a week at a timeshare in Orlando. I know it sounds silly but it was a use it or loose it situation. It has turned out well because Steve and Patti are joining us for a couple of days before the go to the cruise ships. We have Yearly Disney Passes (great for Florida Residences) so we will hit all of the parks and even go back for some fireworks in the evening. We are staying at the Visana Sheridan and the large two bedroom apartment is great. Today we pick up Steve and Patti and tomorrow I would suspect there will be some cribbage, some margaritas and some laying by the pool

Visiting California and a Panama Canal Cruise

Well, we have booked our next cruise. It is a 15 day Panama Canal cruise from San Francisco to Ft. Lauderdale. We will be traveling by Southwest Airlines one way to San Jose to spend about a week with our Daughter and her family. Then we will be joined in San Francisco by some friends here that will be joining us on the cruise and of course when the time comes I will post a link here to our travel blog for that cruise. We booked our usual inside cabin and our friends booked a balcony so we will spend some quality time with a glass of wine on their patio. We booked on the Island Princess and will be our first time on this ship, so we are looking forward to it.

Three Nights in New York City

We no longer got home and we were off on another adventure. We arrived home on Friday evening and the next Thursday we were off to spend a few days with Steve (my son) and his family. We then went into Manhattan where we had rooms at the Crown Plaza at Times Square. The best part of this Hotel was its location and the fact that three nights were free. Earlier this year on our first road trip, Holiday Inn had a promotion of stay two nights and get one free. Crown Plaza is part of the Holiday Inn Chain and we had earned the maximum of four nights and we booked them here. Pretty nice, $300 rooms for staying twice in $100 rooms. While in New York we went to the half price ticket booth and got tickets for "Blythe Spirit" starring Angela Lansbury and several other stars. We also got free tickets and went to a Late show with David Letterman taping. We spent one day doing a tour of New York, including an uptown, downtown and evening tour. We then went down the Jersey shore for the Wedding of Judy's Niece Kim and her Fiance Jose. The Wedding took place in a small chapel in one of the state parks and the reception on the shore. Our Congratulations to Kim and Jose. Now we are home for about another month before our next couple of adventures. We are spending a week close by in Orlando at a time share and then in September, out to visit Weston, Paige and Eric in California and then onto the Island Princess with some good friends for a 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal.

Summary of our Ultimate Road Trip 2009

To summarize this trip would put it into two parts. The first part was the beauty of the southwest. Sedona, Arizona is a very unique and colorful place with its red canyons and red rocks and the only place in the world where the arches at McDonalds are not gold. A local ordinance prohibits gold from being used as a color in downtown Sedona so the arches there are a shade of violet. Tombstone is very campy but a lot of fun and the locals go out of their way to make sure you have a great time. Yosemite has always been one of our favorites and we sure weren’t let down upon our return. It was nice to go back to the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and the Black Hills. The visits with kids and grandkids are always great. The new experiences included Door County, Upper Michigan and Frankenmuth. We loved Mackinac Island and were surprised at how many interesting things were available to see at the Henry Ford Museum. The Trip was great, I got to do it with my wife and best friend (both of them are Judy) and along with no car problems and using Jill (our GPS) a great time was had, and even though we have said that it will probably be our last long road trip, I guess I wouldn’t count on it.

National Parks

We have spent the last ten days or so going through Yosemite Park, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore. Our national parks are wonderful, beautiful and accessible. As a senior the best value for getting into the parks is a ten dollar lifetime senior pass. This pass lets everyone in the car enter all national parks. The views in Yosemite are amazing with waterfalls and majestic vistas. Of course the Tetons stand out in their snow covered peaks. Yellowstone with its wildlife makes you keep your eyes peeled at all times. Mount Rushmore with all of its viewing places upgraded is also enduring. Try the national parks and enjoy.

Two days in Sedona

We spent two days in Sedona and are now thinking of trading our timeshare for something there.  We loved the quaintness of the community, the great restaurants and the fantastic view.  First we had a good hotel, Sedona Inn and Suites where we met a wonderful concierge when we checked in and she pointed us to the things to see that afternoon.    We went to Cathedral park to get a good look at Cathedral Rock and spent sundown at the Sedona Airport with lots of people overlooking Sedona while the sun set.  The red rock formations in around Sedona are mesmerizing and I am sure we took at least 500 pictures over the two days.  We found several wonderful restaurants and of course Judy had to shop in the quaint shops for souvenirs. We will look forward to our next visit to Sedona with great enthusiasm.  

Four Days in Texas

Well, we are a week into our ultimate road trip for 2009 and we have already enjoyed the beaches of the Panhandle of Florida, the wonders of the French Quarter in New Orleans, but also four days in Texas.  Neither Judy or I had spent much time in the heart of Texas, but on this trip we did and really enjoyed it.  We visited with friends in Houston and went to the Battleship Texas, Visited the LBJ Library in Austin, which I believe is one of the best tourist values available, it was not only free but extremely interesting.  We visited the Alamo in San Antonio and extremely enjoyed the River Walk their as well.  We will be leaving Texas today heading for Tombstone, AZ, but will have wonderful memories of Texas and the friendly people we met there.

Ultimate Road Trip 2009

Well, I think we have decided on a date to leave on our ultimate road trip for 2009. If things work our right we will be on our way either on Saturday or Sunday of this week. This trip will take us clockwise around the country including stops in New Orleans, San Antonio, Santa Fe, Sedona, Los Angeles, San Jose, Yellowstone, The Black Hills, Rochester, Door county in Wisconsin and several stops in Michigan before heading home in about six weeks. Who knows how many additional stops along the way because Judy always finds interesting places for us to visit. We are also looking forward to seeing grandchildren (Weston, Nicole and Christina) and family along the way. As usual we will take hundreds (maybe thousands) of pictures and we will post as many as we can. Again we are looking forward to this trip, and a planned long cruise in the fall (destination still up in the air) and a couple more fun things like a nieces wedding in July and a timeshare stay somewhere and a another trip to the West coast to see Weston at Christmas time. Whew, gonna be a busy few months.

Home and planning another road trip

We got home on Saturday,  and have been lazy the last couple of days but the planning has started for our next road trip.  This trip will last about 5 weeks, maybe more and take us from Florida through New Orleans, San Antonio, Santa Fe, Sedona, Los Angeles, San Jose, Yellowstone Park, Black Hills of South Dakota, Rochester, Minn., Door County in Wisconsin and through Upper Michigan and then Home.  We will see a Grandson in San Jose and Grandchildren in Rochester.  We know that there will be lots of unscheduled stop along the way, not sure what they will be yet, but do know we will find something interesting.  Judy uses Microsoft Streets and Trips to layout our tentative route, here is a link to it.  Microsoft Streets and Trips   As always we are very excited about getting back on the road again

Churchill Downs

We know that the Derby was run last week, but definitely wanted to see Churchill Downs.  We found the place quite amazing and if you are not a bettor, a real value.  Free parking starts it all off with a  cart to take you to the main gate.  For Seniors entrance the fee is $1.  We bought a program for $2 and that is all we needed to spend, we did have some lunch which was reasonable and we did place three $2 bets of which one was a winner.  We were able to get up close and personal to the horses and jockeys both in the paddock and the winners circle.  We spent all day there and had a wonderful time.  On the day we were there it was very quiet and empty but we still had fun people watching and all inquires to the staff were met with quick and smiley response.  I would recommend Churchill Downs as a day trip anytime whether you gamble or not. 

Kentucky Horse Park

Today we visited the Kentucky Horse Park and we were amazed. Lexington could almost be a tourist destination because of this Park. The Park has over 50 breeds of horses from all over the world from the the war horses to the miniature ones. We got to pet and photograph Kentucky Derby Winners, Preakness Winners and some of the most famous horses in recent years. Horses are given or loaned to the horse park if their usefulness as a stud horse(because of being guilded or sterility) is no longer viable. Because of that we were able to see Derby winners, sprint winners and and winners of virtually any kind of horse competition in the world. Their are museums of every type, some of them devoted to derby winners. The one to Affirmed, the last triple crown winner is especially interesting because of all if his battles with Alydar. We would recommend a full day here, maybe even two, and make sure to take the Horse farm tour as well, Tickets can be bought at the park. It takes you to working horse farms and is extremely interesting.

Finger Lakes Wineries

Well, we are well into our first road trip of the year, went to Matt's graduation, had dinner with Judy's brother and family on Staten Island and spent time in upstate NY visiting wineries in the Finger Lakes Area. Over three days we visited fifteen wineries and I guess I was surprised over the quality of the wines, not only the Riesling which I expected, but also some fine chardonnays. We tasted several reds as well, although we were not as impressed with those as with the whites, they were still quite good. Some of the wineries we visited were very unique, not only with the outsides but with the decor of the tasting rooms and the names on the wine bottles. Because we were there early in the year, we had no problems finding a place to stay but I would guess later in the year that reservations should be made. We were impressed not only with the wines in the area, but the beauty that existed around Seneca Lake. We would recommend this area to all, not just for the wineries but for the areas beauty.

Our Next trip

We enjoyed our Road trips two years ago, so we decided that 2009 would be the year of another two road trips. The first one will take us to our grandsons Matt's college graduation, then into Staten Island, NY to visit Judy's Brother and family. Then we will go into Manhattan for a couple of days to get our theater fix. Then we will head to the Finger Lakes Area of upstate New York to visit some wineries then onto Niagara Falls (again) and Niagara on the Lake. After we get our fill of Niagara Falls we will travel through West Virginia to Louisville to visit Louisville Downs. Then another fun part, we will visit bourbon distilleries by taking the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky and then eventually home.So we are busy packing the car, programming our GPS (We have a new one called Jill). Judy had the trip all planned on Microsoft Streets and Trips, so we have a pretty good idea of our agenda. Again we will keep a running journal on here for our friends and family

Back From London

We arrived home from London after a 15 day transatlantic cruise on the Grand Princess. We had a great time, visited Scotland and Ireland. First I would like to talk about the Grand Princess. We are a loyal Princess cruiser so we have been on the Grand Many times, most recently 33 days last fall. The Grand came online in 1998 which makes her over ten years old. She is starting to show her age but still a desirable ship. We personally like her new cousin the Emerald Princess because of some new features but with basically the same design. We have always loved the way the staff is so accommodating on the Grand and our last trip was no exception. Now the highlight of our trip was a stop at Le Havre, France and a visit to the Normandy Beaches. It brought a lump to my throat when we walked on Omaha Beach and saw all the embankments on the cliffs around it, it was sure easy to see why so many brave men were killed during that landing. We both wish we would have had more time there, and will perhaps visit it again someday.

Our cruise is getting closer

Well, Our travel Agent Sheryl has gotten all of our travel documents for our Transatlantic cruise on the Grand Princess. We have booked several shore excursions including one to the Normandy Beaches in France which was high on our list. We also booked excursions in Cork, Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland. We have been checking the cruise sites for deals, and there are lots of them right now including some left on this cruise where an inside cabin for the 15 days are going for only $699 per person, that is less than $50 dollars a day per person. Some great deals exist for Panama Canal cruises, and wonderful deals for Alaskan cruises. With all of our plans for the summer we are still looking to book another cruise or two before years end.

Our plans for the next few months

After we get back from London and our cruise, we already have summer travel planned. After completing two road trips in 2007, we have two more planned for this summer.
The first will be roughly two weeks, and will include Our grandson Matt's graduation from college, then into New York City to see Judy's brother and get our theatre fix on Broadway. After that we are heading to the Finger Lakes area of up state New York. Then up into Canada and Niagara Falls (again) and then heading back home with lots of stops along the way. Then we have laid out one that will take us to Michigan, Wisconsin (Door County), a visit to our Daughter In Minnesota, through the Black Hills and Mt Rushmore in South Dakota, onto Yellowstone where we honeymooned years ago. Then we will head to California to see our daughter there, down to Los Angeles to visit friends, Sedona, Arizona, and spots in New Mexico are on our schedule, as well as stops in San Antonio and New Orleans before heading home. According to Judy who is laying this one out, it should be about six weeks. Of course we are excited about those and we have been getting temping cruise brochure with great prices for the fall, the orient looks interesting at this time. Of course all is subject to change.

March 2009

Well, we started the year off right with a ten day caribbean cruise on the Emerald Princess. It was our 28th cruise on Princess. We will be leaving on a 15 Day Transatlantic Cruise from Ft Lauderdale, Florida to Southampton (London) England on April 10th aboard the Grand Princess. We have also cruised on Carnival and Holland America several times but keep going back to Princess. We have been asked why and our response is always the same. Their service is good and they seem to be going where we want to go, and at a price we are willing to pay. Of course after that many cruises with them we are an Elite member which gives us several benefits which I will write about another time.